[CX Industry Voices] Interview with Carlos Sanchez

What do your customers remember long after the interaction is over? Not your process. How you made them feel.

Every brand promises a great experience. The leaders in our Top 150 CX Influencers in Europe know what it takes to deliver one. Through CX Industry Voices, we sit down with them to find out how they got into CX, what it means in their organization, and where they see it heading.

This time, we met Carlos Sanchez, Head of CX & M.E.C.A. at Kia España. After years in the automotive industry, from operational excellence and dealer network management to CX leadership, he now helps embed customer experience in how Kia makes decisions, runs its dealer operations and measures performance.

We explored Carlos’s journey, why the future of CX is “digital plus human” and why companies need to look beyond what customers say to understand what they feel.

My journey into customer experience started long before CX became a business discipline. Throughout different roles in the automotive industry, I realized that products, technology and pricing could be replicated, but the way customers feel during their relationship with a brand creates a lasting competitive advantage.

Over the years, I evolved from focusing on operational excellence and dealer network management to leading customer experience initiatives. What fascinated me most was understanding the behavioral side of decision-making: why customers choose, trust, recommend, or leave a brand. That interest eventually led me to work on customer-centric transformation programs, service standards, CX governance models and industry certifications, helping embed customer experience as a strategic capability rather than a standalone department.

Today, I see customer experience as the intersection between business performance and human understanding.

For me, customer experience is the sum of every promise a brand makes and every moment in which that promise is either fulfilled or broken.

At Kia, customer experience is not viewed as a single department's responsibility. It is integrated across the entire customer journey, from the first digital interaction to ownership, aftersales service and brand advocacy. The objective is not only to satisfy customers but to build trust and long-term relationships.

We have worked to make customer experience part of decision-making processes, governance structures, dealer operations and performance measurement systems. Metrics such as satisfaction, loyalty and recommendation are linked to business outcomes because we believe customer experience should not be seen as a soft discipline but as a driver of growth, retention and brand value.

Technology should make experiences more human, not more distant.

The challenge today is that customers expect the convenience of digital interactions but still value empathy, trust and personal connection. Humanizing customer experience means using technology to remove friction while preserving moments that genuinely matter to people.

For example, automation can simplify processes, provide information faster and anticipate needs. However, when customers face uncertainty, make significant purchase decisions or experience problems, they want to feel understood, not processed.

The future is not digital versus human. The future is digital plus human. Organizations that succeed will be those that combine data, AI and automation with genuine empathy and empowered employees.

Several trends are transforming the automotive industry.

First, the transition from product-centricity to relationship-centricity. Customers increasingly evaluate brands based on the entire ownership experience rather than simply the vehicle itself.

Second, artificial intelligence and predictive experiences. Brands will move from reacting to customer needs to anticipating them before customers even express them.

Third, personalization at scale. Customers expect brands to recognize their preferences and deliver relevant, seamless interactions across every channel.

Fourth, the growing importance of trust. As vehicles become more connected and data-driven, transparency, privacy and ethical use of data will become critical parts of the customer experience equation.

Finally, the rise of ecosystem experiences. Customers no longer think in terms of products but mobility solutions, services, charging infrastructure, connectivity and digital experiences that must work together seamlessly.

Stop looking only at what customers say and start understanding what customers feel.

Most organizations measure transactions, processes and satisfaction scores. The best organizations understand emotions. People remember how a brand made them feel long after they forget specific interactions.

If companies focus on reducing effort, building trust and creating emotional value in the moments that matter most, customer experience will stop being a project and become a true competitive advantage.

Because customers do not compare you to your competitors. They compare you to the best experience they have had anywhere.